Official Magic Box discussion thread

[schmidtj]

I have the option of using one of two windows. Neither gives me a real good signal level. If I have to choose should I go with the location with higher RSRP and a lower CINR or vice versa. 

As it stands now these are my choices. The values do vary slightly over time. 

1) RSRP -113 CINR 5.2

2) RSRP -111 CINR 2.2

Either location gives me approx 16/2 mbps down/up. 

[ingenium]

I have the option of using one of two windows. Neither gives me a real good signal level. If I have to choose should I go with the location with higher RSRP and a lower CINR or vice versa. 
As it stands now these are my choices. The values do vary slightly over time. 
1) RSRP -113 CINR 5.2
2) RSRP -111 CINR 2.2
Either location gives me approx 16/2 mbps down/up. 

I'd go with the higher CINR. That rsrp is pretty close.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[schmidtj]

3 hours ago, ingenium said:

I'd go with the higher CINR. That rsrp is pretty close.

Thanks.

[vryan44]

Is there any sort of additional gain antenna available for this magic box just out of curiosity?  And if not how much stronger of a signal would this box be able to acquire from a normal, lets say iPhone just for testing purposes?

[lilotimz]

35 minutes ago, vryan44 said:

Is there any sort of additional gain antenna available for this magic box just out of curiosity?  And if not how much stronger of a signal would this box be able to acquire from a normal, lets say iPhone just for testing purposes?

The relay antennas are able to pick up much better than whatever puny thing is on mobile devices. Each antenna element is about the size of a phone.

Also no modifications allowed on it as it's an certified transmitter on licensed frequencies. 

[vryan44]

21 minutes ago, lilotimz said:

The relay antennas are able to pick up much better than whatever puny thing is on mobile devices. Each antenna element is about the size of a phone.

Also no modifications allowed on it as it's an certified transmitter on licensed frequencies. 

Okay, I was just curious because I have a cabin in northern Michigan where several iden sites are on the list to be converted to Sprint along a major highway (interstate 75 to be exact). If I can connect to one of these sites at the cabin that currently does not have service without these new additional sites, and a magic box can connect to them once they are finished being upgraded, I can finally ditch at&t. 

 

Edit: I would like to add that Verizon does not have coverage in this area.

[lilotimz]

Okay, I was just curious because I have a cabin in northern Michigan where several iden sites are on the list to be converted to Sprint along a major highway (interstate 75 to be exact). If I can connect to one of these sites at the cabin that currently does not have service without these new additional sites, and a magic box can connect to them once they are finished being upgraded, I can finally ditch at&t. 
 
Edit: I would like to add that Verizon does not have coverage in this area.

You never know until you try especially with these MBs. Do tell us the results!

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[speedingcheetah]

Is there a guide to what the signal stats and abbreviations mean for this MB?  And the most "optimal" numbers. Just curious for fine tuning.

I have:

Service:

RSRP: -94dBm

CINR: 20.2dB

Frequency: 2628000

Band :41 High

LTE:

TXPower: 25dBm

EIRP: 34dBm

Frequency: 2628000

Edited March 1, 2018 by speedingcheetah

[ericwalton]

On 2/27/2018 at 12:43 PM, mmark27 said:

Got this email the other day after requesting one for my dad's location in the summer sometime. Pretty slick email, click the "Send it my way" button, and the confirmation page just says "The Magic Box is on the way". I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't some complicated log-in to website, then re-navigate back to where the MB information might be, etc. Simple....from Sprint....is this the future??

 

Did you get any confirmation that yours is coming? Or any other indication that you actually have a MB coming?

I received the same email, and I clicked the link but I've not gotten any indication that a MB is actually on the way. Nothing in my orders on my sprint account and nothing on my account showing a MB with a phone number.

KInda weird that it's seemed so simple, click that link and it says  MB is on the way, however it almost seems too simple and now it's been a few days with nothing showing, no more emails/calls/orders.

[schmidtj]

They ship by UPS. 

I have “UPS My Choice” which is free and got notified of a shipment from SPCS before any shipment notification from Sprint. 

[ericwalton]

I also have UPS mychoice, I was just trying to see if anyone actually got a MB from one of these emails.......

[speedingcheetah]

4 hours ago, ericwalton said:

I also have UPS mychoice, I was just trying to see if anyone actually got a MB from one of these emails.......

I never had the chance to request one via website or email. they closed those invitations things ages ago.

Just go the online support chat....whine that your data speeds are slow( i gave them speed test numbers for both inside and out side) and they will probably offer to send u one. I got minea week later via UPS.

Edited March 2, 2018 by speedingcheetah

[ericwalton]

Got an order confirmation email from sprint with an order number.

Its really cool that they made the process so simple. I tried to get one back when they were first announced and got a denial email. More recently I used the online tool and it said I qualified, however I didn't bother to call in or anything. Then i got that email above, one click later and now I definitely have a MB on the way!

[nexuss4g]

18 hours ago, ericwalton said:

Did you get any confirmation that yours is coming? Or any other indication that you actually have a MB coming?

I received the same email, and I clicked the link but I've not gotten any indication that a MB is actually on the way. Nothing in my orders on my sprint account and nothing on my account showing a MB with a phone number.

KInda weird that it's seemed so simple, click that link and it says  MB is on the way, however it almost seems too simple and now it's been a few days with nothing showing, no more emails/calls/orders.

I got the same email and it took 3 business days to get a Order confirmation, then this Monday got a tracking for a 2nd Day Air and got it the next day. My Magic Box is up and running, seems like around my house I'm the only one connected to the MB (it was 11pm)   but will check over the weekend as I am away from the house all day.

[mmark27]

16 hours ago, ericwalton said:

Did you get any confirmation that yours is coming? Or any other indication that you actually have a MB coming?

I received the same email, and I clicked the link but I've not gotten any indication that a MB is actually on the way. Nothing in my orders on my sprint account and nothing on my account showing a MB with a phone number.

KInda weird that it's seemed so simple, click that link and it says  MB is on the way, however it almost seems too simple and now it's been a few days with nothing showing, no more emails/calls/orders.

So I haven't seen anything yet as far as emails, but in my devices lists on my Sprint account I now have a "Sprint Magic Box 2" listed below all my phones. This though is going to my parents house in St. Louis and they just left for Florida for a week....so.....not sure when it'll arrive or who's grabbing their packages, etc. 

[jefbal99]

On 3/1/2018 at 3:47 AM, vryan44 said:

Okay, I was just curious because I have a cabin in northern Michigan where several iden sites are on the list to be converted to Sprint along a major highway (interstate 75 to be exact). If I can connect to one of these sites at the cabin that currently does not have service without these new additional sites, and a magic box can connect to them once they are finished being upgraded, I can finally ditch at&t. 

 

Edit: I would like to add that Verizon does not have coverage in this area.

I took mine to Lake Charlevoix last Labor Day.  It latched on to B25 as a source and provided great coverage for the cottage we were using.

[schmidtj]

I've had my MB a few days now. I "think" it had FW Version 15.15.50.140a after I did my first reset.

Today I see it is at 15.15.50.440a which is a higher level or I misread the previous version number.

The 60.6.58.0 did not change but don't know that number represents.

J

[ingenium]

So I haven't seen anything yet as far as emails, but in my devices lists on my Sprint account I now have a "Sprint Magic Box 2" listed below all my phones. This though is going to my parents house in St. Louis and they just left for Florida for a week....so.....not sure when it'll arrive or who's grabbing their packages, etc. 

If they have UPS My Choice (or maybe even if they don't...) you can tell them to hold it at a location for free and pick it up. That's what I do when I have packages come while out of town. They'll hold for 5 business days.

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[mmark27]

2 minutes ago, ingenium said:

If they have UPS My Choice (or maybe even if they don't...) you can tell them to hold it at a location for free and pick it up. That's what I do when I have packages come while out of town. They'll hold for 5 business days.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

Yes, this is what I would do, but explaining that to them would be a lot of my wasted time, ha ha. Neighbor is apparently watching for packages, so they'll be good  

[ingenium]

I've had my MB a few days now. I "think" it had FW Version 15.15.50.140a after I did my first reset.
Today I see it is at 15.15.50.440a which is a higher level or I misread the previous version number.
The 60.6.58.0 did not change but don't know that number represents.
J

Yes, that version was pushed out this week. It changes the magic box GCI.

I forget which is which, but one of the version numbers is for the eNB/relay and the other is for the software itself. I believe the top one is the eNB and the bottom is the software that you interact with (interface, appearance, touch screen, etc).

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[shaferz]

Ugh.   Something is so frickin weird with my phone or Magic Box.  My phone, once again, refuses to connect to the MB.  My Apple Watch LTE, however, will happily connect to the MB if I force it to go to LTE.  Why wont my phone just stay latched to the MB???  

 

iPhone X in my basement:  cycle airplane mode - struggles to connect and hangs onto B26 for dear life.

Apple Watch LTE in my basement:  "HEY LOOK - EXTRA STRONG B41 FROM A MAGIC BOX!"  *happily connects to the MB*

 

FACEPALM.  Grrrrrrrrrrr

[david279]

My magic box changed it's gci over night. [emoji854]

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[schmidtj]

Will a user that is currently a candidate for deprioritization be deprioritized on a MB if the MB itself is not overloaded but the donor cell is?

[ingenium]

I've noticed an oddity this week.
I had two usable windows each with mediocre RSRP and CINR but fairly nice speeds ~30 down and ~5 up
at both locations. 
Since the firmware update both locations have slightly better RSRP and CINR but one location now has
abysmal speeds ~5 down and ~0.5 up.
I've rebooted, reset the MB at both locations.
Can a donor cell "go bad"? I really am at a loss as to why my "better" window has tanked.
I've tried two different phones with near identical results. 
Any possible explanation?

Try factory resetting it. Sometimes it will switch donors and use a bad one. A reboot causes it to reconnect to the last donor it was on. You need to factory reset it for it to do a donor search again.

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[schmidtj]

Thanks but I already tried that a couple of times.